News and Politics | August 08, 2011 | 4 comments

Israel and social unrest: is there hope for solidarity between Arabs and Jews?

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Aimee_Kligman
Israel didn't see it coming, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his finger on another pulse. Stopping the flotillas to Gaza seem to occupy all of his senses. And then the numbers of citizens in the streets protesting grew to an unprecedented 300,000! This is huge, considering the entire population of the country is less than 8 million.

What's the beef?

A couple of months ago, during one of my chats with my cousin in Israel, he was complaining to me about the price of cottage cheese. Being a numbers cruncher, he was preoccupied with the American economic collapse, and how it would affect Israel. Today's headlines point to the fact that this might have been clairvoyance on his part. As of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial average has dropped 1147 points, and the shock was felt in Israel as Tel Aviv's stock market dropped by 7%.

It's not just cottage cheese anymore, but rather skyrocketing prices for lodging that are driving residents of Tel Aviv and other cities to the streets. They are demanding 'a halt to privatisation, cuts to indirect taxes, a comprehensive programme for affordable housing and free schooling from an early age'.

Where are the Palestinians in this?

Continue reading on Examiner.com Israel and social unrest: is there hope for solidarity between Arabs and Jews? - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/israel-and-social-unrest-is-t...
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